By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” they say, but this doesn’t necessarily apply to basketball players for a number of reasons. First of all, “old” athletes are pretty much in the prime of their lives in every other social function by current standards and secondly, if they survived that long as professionals, at some point they had to adapt their games to their age or change training methods in order for their bodies to endure.
In any case, playing well beyond one’s 30s is the current norm, especially for those who are members of elite competitions. And currently, in the EuroLeague there are 10 players who are at least 35 years old and they keep going strong. While they are likely near the end of their careers, many of them are still solid contributors to their teams, feared and respected by opponents. Here they are from youngest to oldest.